


Unending Wake: Those Who Remember

by harellanart (kabeone)



Series: The Unending Wake Universe [2]
Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Prompt fills from tumblr, Time Travel AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-30
Updated: 2016-02-07
Packaged: 2018-05-17 06:06:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5857060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kabeone/pseuds/harellanart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>These are prompt fills for the Unending Wake universe from tumblr. Not necessarily in order. Just collecting them in one place. Some of these might also be too long for tumblr so I may not post them there. Perhaps there will even be some stories about Vir's past iterations.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The First Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt! I'd like to see Vir and Solas first time after reuniting in Final lifetime Haven. For Vir, she's been with him thousands of times. Solas, even though he has witnessed each time, has never been with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first prompt I filled. 
> 
> I made a nsfw smut comic for this. I don't know if I should link it here.

There was not a lot to do in the small enclosure of buildings that made up the town of Haven. There was even less to do when Solas had already exhausted his options for investigation in a previous lifetime. He supposed he could go through everything again. Speaking to Varric was always different even if it only meant a different lie. He could sit in the tavern and listen to the various survivors tell their tales. It might even be nice to listen to music, at least until Maryden starts singing that one song in particular, but they would not recruit Sera for some time yet.

Solas wondered if Vir would ever play for him again and that was a mistake. His gaze fixed in the direction of her quarters. He had been trying not to think of her. Trying not to make excuses to check on her. Cassandra was still suspicious of both of them and they would have to be careful.

People were beginning to come out of the buildings and line the streets. He walked toward the tavern to see what was happening. A perpetually terrified elf who assisted Cassandra sprinted from Vir’s quarters toward the chantry. Word that the “Herald” was awake had begun to spread and the paths through Haven began to fill with spectators. Humans jostled each other and him to get a better view of their savior. ‘Out of my way knife-ear,’ was a phrase he heard more than once and he remembered now why he and Varric had retreated to their quarters when she first woke.

He decided to stay, if only to reassure himself that she was well. A single door opened and shut and a hush fell over the gathered crowd. Vir made her way past the stares and the whispers, still scanning each face, still observant after all this time. She saw him and stopped. He was standing behind two men, farmhands from what he could tell, probably fleeing the mage-templar conflict. He nodded to her from over the shoulder of one. She smiled and nodded back to him.

“Did you see that?” the shorter one said.

“What?” his companion asked.

“She looked at me and nodded!”

“You’re daft.”

“I swear she did. Andraste’s own blessed me.”

Solas choked down a laugh and returned to his quarters.

* * *

Vir had done her best to listen to the Seeker’s recruitment speech, but she was distracted and it showed. When she woke everything was the same. Exactly the same and for a mad moment she thought she had dreamed it all. The guards were the same, the whispers were the same, she scanned each face and then… he was there. It took every ounce of willpower she had not to run to him right then, but she nodded and continued and everything after that was a blur. That was not good. Success was hardly guaranteed and she would need everyone’s confidence if she was going to defeat Corypheus one more time.

She spoke to Threnn, getting their people armed was always a priority. She spoke to Adan, making sure he had what he needed was important. She spoke to Harrit, then Varric, then Minaeve, it was when she found herself talking to Seggrit that she was forced to admit she was stalling.

It was dark when she made her way to the room they had given to Solas. Despite being short on space, no one wanted to share quarters with an apostate so he had the place to himself. She raised her hand to knock on the door feeling rather diffident.

She should have spoken to him sooner. He was probably sleeping. The place was boring and small, the Fade would be more interesting even with the presence of the Breach so near. Investigating the Fade was actually the most likely thing for him to do and she should just come back tomorrow. The door opened the moment her knuckles touched it, a hand grasped her wrist and pulled her inside.

Solas shut the door behind her and pushed her bodily against it. His mouth claimed hers before she could even say a word. She clutched at his arms glad for the door behind her because she could barely tell which way was up. When he finally let her breathe it was only to apply his lips to her throat while his hands sought the fastenings to her clothes.

“Solas,” she gasped, “wait…”

His body left hers so suddenly it was as if he took all the air with him as well. In an instant he was halfway across the room looking embarrassed and apologetic. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have,” he said. “You are right we should discuss-”

Vir caught her breath and pushed away from the door. She crossed the room, putting a finger to his lips. She drew his face down to hers for a much slower, more controlled, but no less enthusiastic kiss. She pulled away with a sigh. “Give me a minute,” she murmured before he could kiss her again. She turned on her heel and walked outside, shutting the door behind her.

The cold air was almost welcome against her skin, heated and flushed as she was. She walked around the building rolling her shoulders casually while looking for a place where she would not be seen. She used a stack of wood leaning against the wall to leap up and grab a hold of the eaves of the roof. Then she pulled herself up silently, surprising the spy who crouched there.

Vir was never unarmed, but she would not pull a knife on someone who would eventually be one of her people. Instead she grabbed the spy’s throat, her thumb crushing their windpipe just enough to kill a scream and let them know they should not move.

She held up her left hand and the mark’s glowing light revealed a familiar elf, the one who had checked on her after she woke. The elf called herself ‘Mala,’ a name which Vir had found clever when she first learned it. Mala’s eyes grew wide and her lip trembled. Vir shook her head and tsked.

“The terrified act doesn’t work when you’re sitting on a roof spying on our allies.” Vir said, amused. “Just a tip.”

Mala stopped shaking.

“Give us an hour and I won’t tell Leliana you were caught,” Vir said. Mala nodded slowly and Vir leaned closer, “Give us the night and I won’t tell Seggrit you’ve been holding out on him so that you may keep taking his money.” At that, the spy grinned and gave her assent. Vir handed her down the roof and tumbled off on her own. She returned to Solas after checking the perimeter just to be safe.

He stood in the middle of the room where she had left him. He was looking at the ceiling with suspicion when she opened the door, but focused back on her when she entered. She closed the door behind her and took a deep breath.

“Okay,” she said, smiling a little nervously, “continue.”


	2. Pre-emptive strike

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt:  
> Prompt for post unending wake: Solas POV and/or Vir POV, during or after his personal quest 'All New Faded for Her'. I think him having to revisit it would be angsty and interesting.
> 
> The dream part in the beginning mostly describes exactly what happened to Vir when he brought her back the last time. Only the last bit was different.

 

_I’m sorry, vhenan. You must walk this path a little longer._

His voice. Those words. Not again.

“Motherfucker!” Vir screamed as she woke.

A guard was shackling her wrist, she dislocated her thumb and wrenched herself free. She knew these men who held her captive. They were all suspicious and frightened, but none of them were any good in a fight. It was probably why they were still alive. She popped her thumb back in and elbowed the closest in the throat. Diving down she pulled up another’s feet, sending him headfirst into the stone floor. The lead guard’s sword got tangled in his belt as he tried to draw it in close quarters. She knocked him out with his own pommel. She had never attempted to escape before, but she knew the cells well enough to navigate them in the dark. She found the door and opened it.

Cassandra Pentaghast introduced her fist.

When Vir regained consciousness she was shackled again and double the number of guards all stood around her with their swords drawn. Cassandra entered the room and the rest proceeded as usual.

Vir kept her mouth shut, mostly, not wanting to give Cassandra a reason to kill her. There was someone else she would have to kill first.

The march to the first rift was a blur. She did what she could to mollify Cassandra with words, but it would be some time before the Seeker trusted her again.

Solas grabbed her hand as he had done so many times before and forced her to close the rift. When it was sealed she wrenched herself away.

“What did you do?” she asked angrily, but he only answered the obvious question. He smiled in his unassuming way, always watching her as if he found her fascinating. He gave no evidence of remembering. He did not know. _He did not know._

It did not matter.

She let the Seeker move ahead while she hung back near the blocked gate. She found a dagger half buried in the rubble. 

He came to check on her, because of course he would.

_He’s just another target, just an objective. End him now, end this cycle. Save the world, if only for a little while._

He came close enough and she turned. It was quick, just like her very first job. She caught him as he fell and lowered him to the ground. When he looked up at her, there was no anger or even surprise. He smiled, sad, but relieved. He touched her face. “Well done, vhenan.”

_That’s not what happened._

The scream that tore from her throat woke her up. Vir sat up in her bed at Skyhold. Her heart raced, she looked to her side frantically. Solas lay sprawled beside her, very much alive. His face calm, his eyes closed but active, he walked the Fade somewhere else.

Too close. It had been too close.

She got out of bed and went to the balcony, letting the icy winds cut away the past that never happened. Pain was always centering, it was the only thing she could count on.

She watched Solas sleep from afar and wondered what he would have thought of her dream.

* * *

Solas paced around a crowd of mages listening as a man in robes held forth on spirits. He spoke at length about how they could be used for the good of the people. It was quite a risky undertaking in Kirkwall to speak of spirits as being useful, considering that the commander of the Templars held the mage’s leash so tightly. Still, he was ignorant and wrong. He was speaking of usefulness not personhood, slavery not cooperation. The crowd cheered, which was unlikely to have truly happened, but this was after all a dream. The mage drank in the approval of his peers and bowed. Solas stepped in behind him, a bolt of power ending his life both inside the Fade and out. He died happy and successful, it was better than he deserved.

The crowd still cheered even as they disappeared and Solas set off to find the others.

The other two mages were not hard to find. Their dreams were usually filled with fear. The other man had been in love with a Templar. They had been caught and he confessed to having used magic to coerce her so that she would not be punished. He was to be made Tranquil, but then the mage rebellion began and he was able to flee. Solas found him staring at a building that had been destroyed in some kind of explosion. He was yelling for his love, trying to find her, wondering if she had been inside when it all went up. Solas spared a moment for pity before killing him, to escape one terrible fate only to find another.

The last was a woman, perhaps the most pitiable of the three. She was the weakest among them and had only helped when the Wisdom turned to Pride and attacked. Still, she knew the spell to summon Wisdom, they all had read the book. He found her fighting a monster, a conjuring of her own thoughts. It looked remarkably like Wisdom which allowed him to steel himself and kill her quickly, the monster disappeared.

He returned to consciousness, allowing himself to become aware of the room at Skyhold. The comfortable bed beneath him, the soft blanket around him, and the … emptiness beside him. He opened his eyes and discovered that Vir’s side was vacant. He sat up, scanning the room and found her watching him from the balcony. She saw his movement and returned to the bed, crawling in beside him. He pulled her into his arms, grumbling wordlessly about how cold had she let herself get.

She settled against him then asked, “What were you doing?”

He looked at the top of her head resting on his shoulder. “What do you mean?”

“You were… sleeping differently.” She shrugged.

He would have to tell her eventually. “I was doing what I could to save my friend.”

“Wisdom?”

“Yes.”

Her body tensed in surprise. “Did they summon her so soon?”

“No and now they wont.”

She tilted her head to look into his eyes, contemplating his words. Finally she asked, “Do you think she’s safe now?”

“I cannot know that, but I hope so.” He searched her face, her expression was odd. “I had to do everything I could to save her.”

“Of course,” she said, her expression still had not changed.

“But what?”

“Nothing,” she said, shaking her head. She pressed her face against his shoulder, hugging him tight enough to hurt. “I just hope you never regret it.”


	3. Injured

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Vir and/or Solas get injured in a very tough fight (probably an ambush w/ really high level enemies or something).

“This world is an abomination,” Solas said to the stone ceiling. Hands stripped off his armor to get at the wound in his side. They were in one of the far caverns of the Deep Roads, a trio of massive darkspawn had rushed their defenses. Solas was forced to hold his shields against them to protect their forces. He had taken a glancing blow, but the power of it had torn into his side and knocked him against a wall.

Dwarves did not have mages and their companions were in a different section, Vir was tending to him while Varric guarded them. The rest of their forces attempted to hold back the darkspawn assault. It was either dark where they were or his vision was failing, he was not sure which. He watched Vir work to save him. Her movements were efficient and calm, a sharp contrast to her expression that was somewhere between terrified and furious.

“Disconnected from the Fade, confined to these prisons of flesh with no magic to speak of. A simple healing spell would solve this, but instead I must be stabbed repeatedly.” He stopped talking then as Vir was indeed stabbing him repeatedly with small metal clamps that could hold a gaping wound shut. Barbaric. They bit into his skin, he was certain she used more than strictly necessary. 

“Deep breath,” she ordered and he complied. A bandage came next, pulled as tight as she could make it.

A torrent of words not directed at him erupted from her mouth in a combination of languages that was difficult to follow. She was likely cursing as she tended to do when she was emotional. He found it endearing. One of the Legionnaires shouted something back at her.

“Drink this,” she said, helping him tilt his head to drink something potent and sticky. The pain subsided considerably and a vaguely tingling sensation coursed down his side.

“This is nice,” he said as the edges of everything began to give off a vaguely pink aura. “Could you not have given me this first?”

“You wouldn’t be able to tell me where the wounds were if I did,” she answered. “We need to end this to reach that lift so we can get help.” Again, not directed at him. She leaned close enough to kiss his cheek and something wet dripped on his face. She hated crying in front of other people. She would probably be angry about this later. “Stay alive, my hope, and stay awake,” she whispered. “No Fade walking for you.” She stood and left his field of view. “Stay with him, Varric.”

“Don’t worry. Bianca and I will take care of him.”

Solas heard footsteps rapidly running away from them. Even in the darkness of the cavern he was able to see the mark as she ran toward the group of darkspawn. It was the largest of the three that was giving the Legionnaires the most trouble. The mark flipped through the air.

He was beginning to feel lightheaded. He hoped it was just a side effect of the potion. “Do you see that, Varric?” He meant to point but his weakness only allowed for a vague fluttering of one of his fingers. “The grace with which she moves, the conservation of energy, the precision.” Vir landed atop the largest darkspawn and began hacking at its spine. “A brutality that is almost sensual, do you not agree?” Definitely feeling lightheaded, definitely the potion.

Varric made a strangled noise in the back of his throat. “I’m not touching that one, Chuckles.”

“I am,” he said with a sigh. “It is wonderful.”

That won him a dry chuckle. “You know, you’re pretty funny when you’re injured. You should get stabbed more often.”

Solas smiled to himself. “She tried to stab me once, but she changed her mind. She loves me.” He should try to stop talking, he hoped they would be able to leave soon for more reasons than just his injuries. The darkspawn roared as Vir’s attacks found their mark.

“Under normal circumstances I’d be encouraging you, but this… this isn’t right. I’m going to recommend you change the subject, Chuckles. Tell me about some of your crazy spirit stuff instead.”

“You’re a good friend, Varric,” Solas said as the rest of the darkspawn were dispatched and the group led by Vir returned to take him to safety. “Not to me, but to someone, a good friend.”


	4. Seekers of Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Does Vir tell anyone about her past?

"Herald," Cassandra greeted. She held a bowl of porridge lightly sweetened with honey. Vir looked up from her own breakfast and quietly made room for the Seeker to sit. They had arrived in the Hinterlands the night before and were preparing to find Mother Giselle somewhere in the chaos of the Mage-Templar conflict.

Cassandra took the open seat gratefully and sent her gaze over the camp. Her eyes flicked over Solas as he emerged from his tent, the tent he and Vir had agreed to share seemingly without the need for discussion.

"I apologize for punching you earlier," Cassandra said.

Vir paused with her spoon in her mouth. She had almost forgotten. "I deserved it," she replied with a wry twist of her lips.

"You were innocent. You woke injured and imprisoned by humans. Attempting to escape was a natural response. My punching you was not. I could have restrained you without it."

"Really?" Vir asked with interest.

"Yes, I just... thought you were guilty. I really wanted to hit you."

Vir laughed. "Your honesty is your finest trait, Seeker. It is one of the reasons why I agreed to stay."

"Thank you," Cassandra said. She stared into her bowl, still not touching its contents. "Then may I ask you a question and will you please answer honestly?"

Vir pursed her lips. "Sure."

"Did you know Solas before all this? I know at first it seemed not. He even introduced himself to you at the first rift, but..." she struggled to find the words, her cheeks turning pink with embarrassment. "Your relationship is quite obvious, neither of you have bothered to hide it, and it seems... fast."

Vir contemplated her phrasing. "I'm going to tell you the truth, but it will be hard for you to believe, especially since you're so..." Cassandra looked up sharply, "devoted to the Chantry," Vir said carefully.

Cassandra only narrowed her eyes.

"I believe that Solas and I met in a past lifetime. We were friends, lovers, and enemies. We destroyed the world with our failings and now we're here again. We've been given a chance to set things right."

Cassandra's expression had gone from irritation at first when she thought Vir was mocking her to something softer.

Vir chuckled. "I told you it's hard to believe, but my soul knows him and has known him for a very long time." She shrugged. "As to everything else, I promise that the first time I saw him was at the first rift and the first time he saw me was in the cells while I was unconscious."

Cassandra's eyes were wide with surprise, "Does Solas know you feel this way?"

Vir nodded.

"That is..." she sighed, "so romantic." She paused after she said the words and looked around to see if anyone else had heard. She took a giant scoop of porridge and crammed it into her mouth as if attempting to shut herself up.

Vir smiled indulgently and they finished their breakfast in peace.


	5. Injured (continued)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuing the Injured prompt. More drugged Solas for Willowsle.

"Cassandra, did you know that half of the new recruits have feelings for you?" Solas called from his stretcher. Cassandra slowed her stride to walk beside him. "They swoon when you walk by. It is fascinating to watch. You give your little nod of approval at their salutes and they look so proud. Some of them giggle about it to each other, both men and women."

"Is he going to talk like this for the entire expedition?" Cassandra asked, her face practically glowing red even in the dim light of the cave.

"Just until we can get him somewhere that Dorian treat him without attracting any unwanted attention," Vir said. She glanced worriedly at Solas, holding his hand tightly. They were not moving fast enough for her, but they could not move any faster.

Cassandra's face maintained its color but her expression grew more sympathetic. "Thank you for telling me, Solas. I shall try to make sure that I do not break any hearts."

Varric choked on a laugh that died the moment Cassandra glanced over her shoulder.

"Oh, I think that's part of the appeal, Seeker," Solas replied.

Cassandra's chuckle was low and throaty. "I see," was all she said.

Dorian met them at the next lift, Vivienne at his side.

"I heard someone ran into some trouble," Dorian began, "and that he was drunk?"

"I heard the same," Vivienne said, both amusement and curiosity alive on her face.

"Ahh, here to take advantage of me," Solas said. "Dorian is not my type and the aura of Vivienne's staff smells like rotting fish."

Vivienne blinked. "It... smells?"

"Yes, I tried to tell you before. That aura, the lack of mana cleansing. Rotting fish or maybe the breath of a mabari after a fight with a darkspawn. Was that not your intent?"

"Must be an elf thing," Dorian said kneeling beside him, trying his best not to laugh at Vivienne's nonplussed expression. "Your magic always smells like sunshine to me, Vivienne."

"An elf thing, yes," Solas said as Dorian's magic began to knit his flesh. He tensed, his knuckles going white as he clutched Vir's hand.

"Apologies there, Solas," Dorian said more to mollify Vir than for Solas's benefit.

"You are doing your best, Dorian, I know that." Solas coughed a laugh as the pain surged again. "Just pretend I'm one of your walking corpses and just shove the magic in."

It was Dorian's turn to blink down at Solas then up at Vir. "How much of this painkiller did you give him?"

"Same dosage I would give myself," Vir said.

"Did it occur to you that you regularly outdrink both me and Bull. Did it occur to you that you're immune to at least six kinds of poisons that I know of through resistance training," Dorian said rather testily. "Perhaps your _amatus_ could have used a smaller dose."

"Do not blame her." Solas waved a finger in front of Dorian's nose. "She is perfect. You have no idea what she has-"

"Shhh- Solas, it's alright." Vir ran a finger over his cheek. He subsided with a sigh and kissed her hand.

Dorian only shook his head and continued his task as the lift made its way to the top. They carried Solas to the small camp they had set up in an area deemed safe from Darkspawn and rockfalls. The group left Vir alone with Solas while they made plans on how to continue forward. They would need a bridge and some guards, Scout Harding could contact Cullen to make arrangements.

Solas stared up from his bedroll, his brows creased with pain, but a smile lingered on his lips. Vir sat next to him, bruised and weary from her assault on the giant Darkspawn. Tears ran down her cheeks silently. He reached up to brush them away.

"Do not worry, vhenan," he said softly, "I will be fine."

"I almost..." she could not continue the sentence, "This hasn't happened before, never," she said, sniffling. "What if-"

"Shhh, it will be fine. We will be fine. And I will be more careful in the future. I promise."

She sniffled again leaning down to press her forehead against his. He kissed her nose then winced as he tried to get into a more comfortable position.

"Do you need more painkillers?" She asked, "I could try a smaller dosage." She frowned. "I don't understand though, it shouldn't have been high enough to affect you so much, at least not after so long. You were in too much pain..." She caught sight of his expression, the look of mischief in his eyes. She gasped as he pulled her down smothering her laugh with his lips. "You faker," she murmured softly as she sat up and began measuring out the potion.

Solas only winked in response.


	6. Truth is Only the Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Four prompts conspired to make this abomination.  
> Prompt 1: Does the Crestwood scene ever happen now? If so, what goes down? :3  
> Prompt 2: Prompt! Post unending wake, there's a battle and for awhile Solas thinks Vir is dead. Then she shows up alive, if badly hurt. Give me angst and then fluffs!  
> Prompt 3: Vir and Solas povs; before, during, and after final battle w/ Corypheus.  
> Prompt 4: sweet, fluffy, after-corypheus/trespasser scenes of solas and vir from unending wake---!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was already planned out in the original story, but I did not include it because I would have had to write too much stuff in between. As kind of a standalone arc it seemed ok though and I thought it fit the prompts too well not to use.

Vir led Solas to a familiar pond hidden away in the mountains near Crestwood.

"The Veil is thin here," she said with a laugh.

He smiled. "It is. I like it here."

"Really?" She made a face. "I think of it as the place where we try to tell each other difficult things."

He slid his arms around her and kissed her brow. "I remember. The first time you brought me here was to tell me about how I sent you back. I've always wondered why you chose this place."

"That," she paused, looking at him strangely, "wasn't the first time."

"No?" The muscles of her back had tensed. He tried to soothe them, unsuccessfully.

"You brought me here during my first life," she reminded him. "This is where you told me about my vallaslin."

"Ahh," he said, understanding her confusion, "I did not witness most of that. I was only able to see the end when I brought down the Veil. That is what created the spell."

"Oh," she said, stepping backward. "I see."

"Vhenan," he said, following her. The gap forming between them was more than physical. "What's wrong?" he asked looking around. "What difficult thing did you wish to tell me?"

"I..." she inhaled sharply, a pained expression crossing her face. "It won't bother you when I'm dead will it?" She winced at the sound of her words, but offered nothing more.

He stopped and stared. There was no part of that question that made sense. "Do you worry that you will die in this fight," he said, trying to draw out whatever fear had prompted that statement. "We can defeat him. We both know that."

"No we don't. This is important. Let's assume that we don't know what will happen. If I die, tell me you'll be fine."

He let out an exasperated breath. "How could you ask that of me? Of course I won't be fine. Would you be fine if I died?"

"Yes," she said vehemently, then reached out and touched his cheek. "I would be devastated and angry and I would try to kill whatever killed you. I would probably kill whoever helped them along the way. Maybe a few hundred people at most. Ultimately, I'd stop somewhere, but I'm not you." She paused and waited to see if he understood. "I need to know that you won't tear down the Veil and try to bring me back. I need to know that you'll try to continue with this world even if it's without me."

"Oh, vhenan," he sighed.

She made a face. "Look, it's not that I think you'd destroy the world just for me. I just need to hear you say it." He cut her off with a kiss. The very thought of losing her was always too much, especially now when they had a real chance. "Promise me," she said when she realized he had no intention of stopping and still had not answered. "Promise you'll keep going with this world when I'm gone." He kissed her again, trying to make her forget the question. "Promise," she insisted.

He sighed against her lips. "I promise," he said. "I realized some time ago that I could lose you again. I will not be fine, but I will endure. Now," he drew back enough to look into her eyes, "tell me what brought this on."

She opened her mouth to speak but it snapped shut. A strange look came over her face and he realized she was shaking. "I," she tried again. "I'm so sorry," was all she managed to say before she burst into tears. He tried unsuccessfully to coax her to speak, but everything he did only made it worse. He gave up and pulled her against his chest, holding her helplessly while she cried.

 

* * *

  

Skyhold was different for Solas now. Even the whispers had subtly changed. The words, "He sleeps in her quarters," had always been murmured throughout, but now it was followed by, "We're all still in mourning," and "There wasn't even a body to bring back." Solas tried to ignore it, but the walk from her rooms to the rotunda was becoming more difficult as time passed.

He caught Josephine in one of the rare moments she was not behind her desk. She was standing in the middle of the room staring at the fireplace, unaware that he was there. He cleared his throat politely. She looked up and smiled.

"Solas, how are you today?"

Coming from anyone else the comment would seem blithe. A careless greeting tossed out as a platitude with the expectation of a brief and positive answer. Coming from almost anyone else his answer would be a terse statement or a question in return, but Solas could see the truth behind her pleasantly smiling exterior. Her hair was neatly coiffed, but in a far simpler style than usual. Her face was made perfectly, but no artifice could entirely conceal the puffiness of her eyelids, nor could any potion hide the redness of too many tears and too many hours awake.

"I would guess," Solas said quietly, "the same as you."

Josephine looked surprised, her smile faltered, and she was forced to turn away.

"It is not nearly as terrible for me as it must be for you," Josephine said after a moment of trying to compose herself then failing utterly. She covered her face with her hands. Solas crossed the room and put his arms around her. They were friends, but they were hardly on hugging terms. Nevertheless she turned and sagged against him.

For whatever reason, her tears allowed him to save his. He held her instead as Vir would have wanted. Vir had loved Josephine. She had loved all of her friends. Her cruelty to them in the previous lifetime had perhaps been more difficult than what she had done to him.

"To lose the love of someone who shines so brightly, casts us all in darkness," he said. "The kind of love you shared makes the loss no less difficult."

Josephine could not answer his words but she hugged him tighter. "You are too kind," she said finally. She squared her shoulders and pulled away, dabbing at the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief. "Now, you came here for a reason, what can I do for you?"

It was strange to request a room in a castle that had once been his, but none of them knew that. He also did not want to upset the carefully orchestrated allocation of space, especially given the number of dignitaries that would be attending the Inquisitor's funeral.

"If a room could be spared for me, I would appreciate it. I find it difficult to stay in the place that was hers." He did not say more, with Josephine he would not need to.

She nodded sympathetically. "Of course, the room at the end of the mage wing has always been reserved for you." She smiled a little at his surprise. "The Inquisitor asked me to arrange it when we moved here. She thought the day might come when you would no longer wish to share her quarters. She did not want you to feel obligated." Her eyes saddened again. "I told her she was being silly, that I have never seen a pairing as devoted as the two of you."

"Thank you," he said simply.

"Her clan is scheduled to arrive tomorrow. I know that they expressed interest in meeting you, but if you wish to avoid them I can arrange it."

"I appreciate it, but that will not be necessary," he paused, considering, "I would be pleased to meet them, if they are amenable."

"Of course, I will let them know," Josephine seemed pleased as if a burden had been lifted, likely because arranging to hide an entire clan from him would have been difficult. She hugged him again briefly. "Thank you for everything you have done, Master Solas. It has been an honor working with you."

"And you, Ambassador," he said and took himself off to find his room.

 

* * *

 

Solas did not have much in the way of possessions to move, a habit of a lifetime spent wandering or fighting. His books were in the rotunda or shared in the library. His clothing and small items were easily packed into a pair of traveling bags. He would stay until after the services were done, then meet with his people and attempt to restore what he could of his world. It would be easier now, if such a task could ever be easy. He lifted his hand and conjured his orb. Unlike every other life Vir had lived, it was unbroken. She had sacrificed herself to save it. Her final gift to him and everyone.

He walked out to the balcony that faced the gardens. He had seen this view over the course of thousands of years. He wondered if it would be abandoned or would the Inquisition remain and finally be the group to hold it.

A face turned up to stare in his direction as if the owner knew he would be looking. Morrigan's eyes measured him from a distance. He did not meet her gaze, but turned back to the room to finish his task.

He sat in the rotunda after moving his things, flipping through the pages of a book without reading them.

"I wonder what happened to that remarkable orb Corypheus carried." Morrigan's voice preceded her. She entered the room and came to a stop next to his chair. She examined the mural that depicted Corypheus and the orb. "Leliana tells me you were quite interested in it when all this began. Did you manage to recover it?"

"I did," he replied. "I am studying it."

"I had wondered why you were supposed to be the one best suited to study it given that I drank from the well. However, the well itself reassures me that you are," she mused. "Aside from that, the voices are oddly silent on you. That in itself is information."

Her movements were slow and pained even though she hid it well. She had been gravely wounded in the battle not long ago and fought as bravely as anyone else. For that, Solas reminded himself not to snap at her. He looked at his book and said nothing.

"The Inquisitor, she meant something to you personally did she not?"

"She meant something personally to most of us," he answered. She could include or exclude herself from that group as she wished.

"Oh, I admired her certainly. She was a cunning leader and my instincts say that she was even more knowledgeable in the ways of magic than she let on, but for you it was different." She left the statement open.

"It was, but the details of that are not for you to know," he said firmly. She laughed at that, a false lilting laugh. It grated on him enough that he was ready to tell the little girl to run away and bother someone else when her next words took his breath away.

"And yet you have given up on her."

"Be careful what you say, witch," he said quietly.

"There was no body," Morrigan pointed out.

He looked back up. Surely there was a point to this conversation, even she would not simply come here to prod at open wounds. "She sealed the entire Breach herself, she was drawn into the sky, the whole thing exploded. How could she have survived?"

"She survived the first explosion, could she not have done so again? What makes you believe so fervently that she is dead?"

He sighed and slumped back in his chair. "The mark. I could always sense in the Fade when I looked. I no longer can. She is gone." They were the words he had not spoken until now, but they did not ring false to his ears.

"I see," Morrigan said. "Then I am sorry for bothering you and very sorry for your loss." Solas nodded stiffly in acknowledgement. "Strange," she said as she walked to the door back toward the hall, "the voices of the well insist otherwise, but surely you must know best."

 

* * *

  

Mythal was waiting by the eluvian, the same place she had been the last time, the same place she had been every other time.

"I knew you would come," she said, turning to greet him.

"Is that not what you intended," Solas asked sending his orb aloft to float next to him.

"I see that she succeeded. I wasn't sure she would even try." She titled her head. "For once, I am actually surprised."

"What did you do?" The air around him crackled purely from the strength of his emotions.

Her smile faded.. "What our kind always does. I told her the truth, then I gave her a choice."

"The truth," he said skeptically. "Our kind only tells enough truth to get the results we want."

"Just so," she agreed. "I told her that I remember everything just as she does. I told her that I knew the orb would break. I told her that she could save it."

"You told her to sacrifice herself." His voice was tight with barely contained rage.

"She seemed more concerned that it wouldn't work. The thought of dying never even gave her pause." She smiled. "I suppose she's had practice."

His eyes glowed and the orb turned red. "And what choice did you give her?"

"I am well aware of your new intentions. That also changes my plans and so I must adapt, but I know who would ultimately win in a fight between we two, even without your orb."

"I suppose you did not tell her that," he said bitterly.

She threw her head back and laughed. "She begged me not to hurt you, but that was not my intent and I did not threaten your life. I told her that I would need a new host and she would suit perfectly."

"That is not the truth," he growled advancing on her. A vise of power wrapped around Flemeth's body, pinning her arms to her sides. "She would never be willing."

"She gave herself to me willingly long ago. Whether she wanted to be or not, she is a high priestess of Mythal. The years have honed her, the well speaks to her. Did you never think to ask where her fluency in elven came from? Her remarkably trained memory, her ability to access my eluvians on her own, your inability to find her in dreams when you hunted her in the last lifetime, did that not seem strange to you?"

The magic around her faded. Solas gaped in disbelief, but he sensed no deception in the statement. "That... cannot be."

Mythal's face was sympathetic, "You follow someone for thousands of years, you would think you'd know them."

"Her first life," he said and closed his eyes, "she drank from the well. She tried to tell me and you stopped her."

Mythal nodded.

"And she has served you ever since," Solas concluded. "So, you would take her body if she failed to save the orb."

"Perhaps," Mythal said waving her hand, "but that was not the choice I offered. If she was able to save the orb, I would end the geas of her service if she wished it. She immediately saw the benefits. She saves your orb, I end the geas, and I survive. The alternative was that you lose your orb again, I die, and she joins with me. The thought of dying herself was preferable to that." She chuckled. "Perhaps I should be offended."

"And every turn of her life, every time she came back, you knew. That was why you took Kieran's body in the last cycle. Was all of this," Solas waved at himself and the world in general, "your plan?"

She laughed again. "What a convoluted plan that would be. No, old friend. I admit I made arrangements in the past, but I reacted to the changes you made to the world. Now that I have options I act for myself."

The orb disappeared. Solas had only one more question. "Is it true? Is she still alive?"

"Yes," Mythal said, "and you what that means."

"I will find her."

"Good," she said and seemed to mean it. "After that, make sure to bring her to me. I have to uphold my part of our bargain."

Solas left without a backward glance. Mythal turned away and disappeared.

 

* * *

  

Vir remembered falling, then an explosion, then more falling. It was not the first time she had died from a fall, but there was usually a landing, then darkness. This time there was no landing, which was odd. Now someone was dragging her body over a rocky landscape.

The boots of a soldier occasionally came into view. The soldier, a man by the sound of him, was quoting the Chant as he walked. Perhaps that was a good sign, she doubted Corypheus's people would quote the Chant. She tried to get a better view of where she was, but her eyes would not stay open and her body would not obey. She tried to speak, but a whisper hissed for her silence.

_Huh_. She thought. _I haven't heard the well in a very long time._ She had thought death had allowed her escape , but her last encounter with Mythal had proven that false. Still, there were no whispers until now and now the voice was clear, not hundreds of whispers but one.

_We were ordered not to speak. We aided you, sculpting you in silence these long years. I have been chosen to speak, now that your mind is finally capable of hearing and Mythal has revealed your bond. You are in grave danger._

Vir did not like the sound of being sculpted, but she had more pressing concerns. _Where am I?_

_The Fade._

She kept her sigh purely internal. _Of course I am. Where in the Fade?_

_The lair of the Nightmare._

_Fuck._

_Yes._

 

* * *

   
King Alistair and Marquise Briala, on behalf of Empress Celene, both attended the Inquisitor's funeral. As a rare state visit on technically neutral territory, they were using the opportunity to unofficially discuss what would become of the Inquisition and the rest of its holdings now that the Inquisitor was gone.

As it was unofficial, it was conducted over dinner where the Inquisitor's chief advisors and powerful friends were able to sit in and give their input as to what they believed should happen. King Alistair and Briala both owed a great deal to the Inquisition generally and Vir Lavellan personally, but there was still a certain level of formality to be expected. Josephine presided as the one best suited to handle such a thing and the dinner was preceding quietly and mostly politely.

Solas did not care.

He strode into the banquet, fully armored, his usually quiet voice carrying to reach all of those who had gathered. "The Inquisitor is alive, but she is trapped within the Fade. We must plan to retrieve her." He left through a side door, heading toward the war room. It was obvious he expected them to follow.

Chairs scraped as those who had gathered stood as one and filed through the door, all of them eager to discover how Solas planned to get their Inquisitor back. Only Josephine and the few noble guests high enough in rank to be invited remained. The other nobles huffed at the elf's intrusion and Josephine plastered a strained smile on her face. She glanced nervously between the King of Ferelden and the Orlesian representative.

"I apologize, King Alistair, Marq-"

"Ambassador," King Alistair interrupted, his eyes narrowed. "This is highly improper." He leaned back in his seat examining a piece of cheese. "Shouldn't you be with them?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Josephine hurried from the table after the others.

"Let me know if you need reinforcements," he called after her. "If we're lucky," he said conversationally to the Marquise, "we won't have to figure out this property nonsense after all."

Marquise Briala snorted and sipped her wine, but she could not suppress the smile on her lips.

 

* * *

 

 "Inquisitor," a familiar voice said. "I hope you are awake."

"Stroud?" Vir asked, unable to believe the Warden was still alive. "Is this some kind of trick? Is it really you?"

"Not exactly," he answered.

She focused all her strength into sitting up. Her left hand was a blackened mess. The mark had been reduced to a tiny spark, a scar of light and no more.

Stroud stood away from her, his eyes dark with corruption. The wounds he suffered at the hands of the Nightmare were still open. He should be dead and yet...

"The Nightmare took my body, but it did not go the way the demon expected."

"What do you mean?"

"Grey Wardens undergo a ritual that makes us immune to the immediate effects of the blight," he explained, "but it also makes us susceptible to other things, as I'm sure you remember."

"Corypheus," Vir said.

"Yes, when the Nightmare took my body, Corypheus's calling affected him as well. He believed he was dying as did I and the rest of the Grey Wardens. He who feeds on fear was not prepared to have that mortal emotion himself and it drove him mad." Stroud's mustache twitched in what might have been amusement. "In that moment of vulnerability, I wrested control and allowed my fears of dying and failure to overwhelm him. He sleeps now, but it is only sleep."

Vir swallowed and took a shaky breath. "Corypheus is dead."

"I know," Stroud bowed to her. "For that I thank you, but his call is gone and now the demon wakes. This is his place. If he returns, he will find you with ease. I have taken you as far from the center of his domain as I could. Now you must kill me and him while he is weak."

The tiny spark of hope that she could save him died with his words. Vir pounded her fist into the ground. "I hate when my only options are to kill my friends or die with them."

Stroud chuckled with sympathy. "It gets worse. I am holding back his minions as well. They will hunt you and you must run, but at least they are mindless for the most part." He gave her his sword.

"I'm sorry I left you behind." She stood, testing her balance and gripping the sword firmly.

"Honestly?" Stroud knelt, resting his hands on his knees. "It was better than witnessing the end of the world the last time." He nodded as her eyes widened at the implication. "No time to talk about it, I can feel him stirring now. Be swift and sure, my lady. That is all that I can ask."

Vir had no words that could apologize to the man she had sacrificed a thousand times. She took a breath and raised the sword. "Blessed are they who stand before the corrupt and the wicked and do not falter," Vir said. Stroud closed his eyes with a sigh. "Blessed are the peacekeepers, the champions of the just. Blessed are the righteous, the lights in the shadow. In their blood the Maker's will is written."

The sword found its mark, the Grey Warden fell, the Nightmare was slain, and Vir ran.

 

* * *

 

"Isn't crossing into the Fade something that can only be done with the Inquisitor's mark?" Dorian asked.

"And will this cause another Breach?" Vivienne added.

Solas knew they were not trying to be difficult. They both had spent the evening acidly cutting down any arguments against retrieving the Inquisitor so that he would not have to. For that alone, Solas would answer them.

"The Breach will not open fully, but there will be a tear," Solas said, "As to creating a rift, the orb controls the mark and can affect it in the Fade. If the Inquisitor is still alive and still bears the mark I can force it to activate. Then we can retrieve her."

"And if not?" Dorian asked. Solas leveled a look at him. "I was talking about the mark, if she lost the mark," he amended.

"There are other ways, they are... more disruptive."

"I see," Dorian said and Solas was grateful he did not require elaboration. "And you need us to handle what might come through when you open the rift."

"Correct," he said. "The Breach sent Vir to the Nightmare's territory the first time. If it has done so again, we will need to be prepared." He only hoped he could retrieve Vir before the Nightmare tried to come through.

 

* * *

  

_Fuck. Fuck. Fuck._ Vir ran from cover to cover as winged horrors scoured the area searching for her.

_Must you continue to repeat that word?_ The voice whispered. It had been trying to help, alerting her when the demons were closing in overhead, but mostly it was just annoying.

_Fuck you. Fuck this. Fuck those demons. Fuck the Fade. Fuck magic. Fuck ancient elves. Fuck the evanuris. Fuck Mythal in particular. Fuck your fucking well. I died a thousand times, you'd think that would end my service._

_You never died. The Dread Wolf preserved you and your binding to the well._

_Well fuck Solas then._

She swore the voice laughed at that. She crouched under a rocky outcropping simultaneously listening for encroaching demons and trying desperately not to hear their howls in the distance as they hunted her. _Any advice other than watch your language?_

_Keep running away from the demons._

_Glad I have the collective knowledge of so many wise elves such as you._

_Help is coming._

Her heart skipped, then it ached. Her eyes blurred and she scrubbed at them. Solas was coming. She had to stay alive, if only to see him again and apologize.

 

* * *

 

 "Solas?" Cullen strode toward him. He looked up and nodded for the Commander to report. "We have our men stationed where you suggested. Vir's clan is also covering areas where we were thin. We're still not recovered in numbers from the Arbor Wilds and the fight with Corypheus, but we can manage a few waves of demons if you can close the rift quickly."

"There is no guaranty that I will find her quickly. Her mark will open a portal, hopefully she will be able to stay nearby. If she runs, it may take time to bring her through."

"I wish there was a way to warn her that we're coming," Cullen said. "If demons are attracted to the rift, she will be forced to flee."

"I can go," Cole said, appearing next to them.

"Cole," Solas said, "I told you to stay at Skyhold."

"But I can help. I can find her, tell her to hide until we come."

"Cole, it will be dangerous enough and if the rift opens near you. You could be drawn through it as well. I cannot let you risk it. She would not want you to."

"You want me to, but you won't ask. You feel you have to stop me," Cole said, listening to his heart instead of his words.

Solas held out his hand, trying to muster the will to keep Cole safe. The spirit backed away. "You couldn't stop me without hurting me. You won't do that." He disappeared.

Cullen sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I suppose now we have to wait for him to come back. I'll inform Cassandra and the others." He put his hand on Solas's shoulder. "We'll be ready."

"Thank you, Cullen."

The Commander hurried back to their Forces. Now they would have to wait.

 

* * *

  

They were getting closer. There was less cover and more fliers. Eventually she would be running out in the open and she was too tired to do that for long.

_The sky is clear._

She rolled out of her hiding place and took off, looking for the next area that could offer cover. She looked over her shoulder and watched tiny dots in the sky make a slow turn to sweep back toward her. She changed direction, she had an idea.

_There are fewer places to hide that way and it will lead to a dead end._

_No it won't. There's a cliff._ A bad idea, but still an idea.

_You cannot fly._

She kept running as her legs burned and her hips strained and pain creeped into her arm. She found another formation of rock to hide under just as the sounds of Despair flooded the sky. _True, but now I can barely run. I'm not going to make it much farther anyway. I can wait here until they catch up with me. Then I'll run out to the cliff and jump._

_What will that accomplish?_

_I fell before and didn't die. Maybe jumping off the cliff will do the same. Maybe I'd end up somewhere else._

_That cliff leads to the Void._

_Is that worse than staying here?_

_You obviously know nothing of the Void._

_Well, I get to learn something new then._

_You are a strange mortal._

She laughed silently. _It's been nice knowing you. Thanks for all your help._

Silence met her last statement. Finally the well spoke again. _It has been an honor, Priestess of Mythal._ Vir wondered if she would ever stop receiving titles she did not want.

 

* * *

 

Cole wandered along the rocky terrain of the Nightmare's territory. He had found the body of the Warden and a trail of blood from the weapon that felled him. The blow had been merciful and only one person could be offering mercy in this place. The demons were behind him and others flew above. He could sense them hunting something. It meant they had not found her yet.

"You believe that all is lost," Cole said to the sky, "but it doesn't have to be. You could be different." The demons ignored him. _They're sad,_ he said to himself. _Their master is gone. He protected them and gave them power. Now they are nothing. They are angry at the one who killed him._

"There is nothing, you have failed," Cole whispered the words that Despair projected. "That's not true."

"Kill her, rend her limbs, find her and make her suffer," Cole repeated. That was Rage. "She has rage too sometimes. She tries not to. You could try too."

"Cole, what the fuck are you doing, get under cover are you insane?" Cole said. "Oh," he paused in surprise sensing the source of the thoughts and joined Vir in her hiding place. "Hello."

"Cole. You have to leave," Vir said urgently, "They're hunting me."

"Yes," he whispered. "They may have found you because of me. I'm sorry," he said, "We're coming to rescue you. Solas is. He's going to use the mark to open a rift for you to come through. You just have to hide until it opens."

"Cole, the mark is gone." She showed him her hand.

The high pitched wail of the hunting hordes grew nearer.

_They're here._ The well reported.

"Shit," she said and burst from cover, the demons not more than a dozen paces away. She started running toward the cliff. "Go, Cole. Save yourself."

Cole vanished reappearing next to Solas.

"Did you find her?" Solas said already looking into his mind.

"Small, shining, still a spark, the mark burned out, but left a scar. She runs, the demons almost have her. She won't let them take her. She wonders if the Void is worse than the darkness of the mirror, what does that mean?"  
  
Solas did not answer. He shouted, "Stand ready." The soldiers nearest to him sent the call up the line. He did not wait for a response. He closed his eyes and the orb glowed red with power. "I promised I would never hurt you again, vhenan. I am so sorry."

Vir's her arm erupted with energy as she neared the cliff. She staggered, fighting her way to the edge. She could feel the fires of Rage at her back. She leaped.

Solas activated the mark.

An explosion of light seared the sky. The scar of the breach glowed red then green. A small tear opened for only a moment and fire rained from it. Demons crashed to the earth and attacked as they had when the Breach first opened. This time their forces were ready.

Solas closed his eyes, searching for the mark. A tiny spark on a lifeless form fell from the sky.

 

* * *

  

Vir had jumped into darkness, but now she could see green and blue and white. _Clouds,_  she identified, _mountains, ... the ground_. She looked down as it rushed to meet her. Figures, she thought and closed her eyes.

Solas watched Vir fall, his body rigid with tension, readying a desperate spell in case their plan failed. _Do your part, witch._ He thought.

A dragon lumbered upward from the ground, a massive scar marred one of its sides. It met the falling form of the Inquisitor in the sky and carefully plucked her from the air. Morrigan turned and began her slow descent, avoiding the areas where their forces fought.

Solas ran to where Morrigan had set Vir down. The witch sat on a rock several yards away, human once again. She waived at him when she saw him approach and limped off on her own.

Solas bent over Vir's still form, frantic until he saw that her chest moved shallowly. Still alive. He gathered her in his arms, carefully coaxing energy back into her body.

Her eyes fluttered open and she looked around wildly, her look of panic did not fade when she saw him. "I don't know how to tell if it's really you," she said.

"It is, vhenan," he said soothingly. He touched her left hand, soothing the burns and taming the mark that had sprung to life once again. It seemed proof enough for her because she collapsed against him.

"I'm sorry." Her shoulders shook, but she was too exhausted for tears, "I tried to tell you. I'm so sorry."

He held her carefully, still trying to heal her. "Shh, vhenan. It's alright, I understand why you couldn't." She looked up, fear, guilt, and shame written plainly on her face. He kissed her nose. "We will fix that as well." He put his arms beneath her and stood.

"Solas," Vir said as he began walking. "I... I hate the Fade. I hate it. It's a terrible place. I don't know why you like it so much. It's slimy everywhere. It's dark. The colors are wrong. Even the spirits look like glowing corpses. It's me isn't it? It reflects me. I'm terrible so it's terrible. Well I still hate it. At least out here I can pretend to be a nice person. I can even fool people sometimes."

"The Fade is-" Solas began. She made an angry noise and buried her face in his jacket. He walked for a distance in silence, contemplating her words. "The Fade is terrible," he agreed finally.

"You don't have to say that," came the muffled reply.

"It is. It's full of terrible things just as you said. There are pockets of the Fade filled with one anxiety after another. Did you know there is a place where the dreamers are always naked?"

She snorted.

"Completely naked, always, but not happily so. There they feel shame and fear, always trying to cover their parts and never succeeding." That won him a giggle. "But this world is also terrible. There is poverty and hunger, jealousy and hate. Is that not also true?" She sighed and nodded. "That is why we fight to make things better. Here and in the Fade. Yes?"

"Yes," she grumbled into his neck. Then after they had walked without speaking for a while. "Tell me more about the naked people."

He laughed softly and carried her home.

 

* * *

 

Vir squeezed his hand to capture his attention.

"Are you holding my hand for comfort, restraint, or protection?" she asked. Solas had taken her hand after they entered the crossroads through the Skyhold eluvian and had not relinquished it since.

"Yes," Solas answered. His was worried, but only a little. "Mythal is formidable and one can never tell how deep her plans go."

"I'd gathered as much."

Mythal waited by the same eluvian, a mirror flanked by a dragon and a wolf.

"I see you've returned," she said with a careful smile, "Are you ready to be free, my priestess?"

Vir let go of Solas's hand and crossed her arms. "Let me ask you a question first. What else will I lose?"

Mythal's smile widened. "The Well is a gift of knowledge, it has helped you store memories that you would otherwise be unable to recall. You would lose most of what you have gained in your remarkable lifetime."

Solas narrowed his eyes. He knew Vir's freedom would have a price, but he doubted Mythal truly knew Vir's capabilities without the Well. "You are not giving her enough credit. Her mind was remarkable from the beginning or the Well would have had nothing to work with. The Well's magic can only aid her, it did not make her." He turned to Vir. "Do not worry, vhenan. You will not lose yourself in exchange for your freedom."

Vir pursed her lips, seemingly unsurprised at the cost. She shrugged, "I'll wait then."

"What?" He and Mythal said at the same time.

"You said you would free me if I wished it, I don't wish it just yet." She turned to him. "We don't know how much I'll lose without the Well and we can't risk it. You know my knowledge of the world will be useful to you. There's still so much to do."

"You will be susceptible to her will," Solas said, shaking his head. "She could control you at any time. She may seem benevolent now, but that will change as her needs do."

"I'm standing right here, you know," Mythal said dryly.

Vir chuckled. "I've lived with it this long, I can cope until the job is done." She looked back at the ancient goddess. "I will keep the Well for now and you will retain a useful tool. You may even call me priestess if you must." She inclined her head. "You may use me however you need if you have a good reason and ask nicely. If you try to control me, I'll demand my release. Deny me or try to release me before I'm ready and you'll anger him." She jerked her head at Solas. "I figured out how that fight would go."

Up until that point he had been staring at Vir in disbelief. Now a smile turned up the corners of his mouth at her audacity. He looked back at Mythal and found her stunned expression to be equally pleasing.

"You two feel free to discuss the merits of my decision. For now, this mortal is tired of your evanuris bullshit. I'm going home." Vir turned and walked away from them.

They watched her leave. "She reminds me of someone," Mythal said, glaring meaningfully at him. He thought she sounded genuinely annoyed. "Don't let that one out of your sight."

He laughed and hurried to catch up with his vhenan.

 

* * *

 

Today there were no magical storms, no troubled spirits, no maniacal villains. They had not had to kill a single person in weeks. Solas and Vir ate a picnic lunch and lay shoulder to shoulder under a tree in a field far from war and responsibility.

Vir watched clouds drift across the sky, a little half-smile curving her lips. Solas turned on his side, appreciating her profile. She had asked him to remove her vallaslin. He thought it was more of a gift to him than something she needed, but the request was genuine and he was happy to oblige.

"What are you thinking, vhenan?"

"That I like you best," she said after a moment.

He chuckled. "I am glad to hear it."

"No, really," she said. "In all my other lives I tried to do the right thing even if I didn't truly agree with it. I hid myself at first because... well because I'm awful. Then I did it because I thought it would bring out the best in you."

"It did."

"Yes, but I never got to know you, you never knew me," she shrugged. "This time you saw every terrible part of me and helped me anyway. I discovered you were fallible, even hateful, but even so you saw the truth and changed yourself in a way you couldn't before. I like you best."

He rolled over, propping his elbows onto either side of her. He traced the lines of her face. Brows that were habitually furrowed, smoothed at his touch. Eyes that were usually sharp, softened just for him. Lips that cursed with oaths that could flay skin, pulled back in a smile that caught his breath.

"Marry me." They were words he never thought he would ever have the luxury of saying.

She blinked in surprise, but it was only a moment before she kissed him fiercely. She kissed him the way he kissed her to try to make her forget a question. Despite his enjoyment, it was not truly an answer and he was almost beginning to worry, but when she finally pulled back she said, "Yes."

At that he kissed her the same way. Her lips tasted of cake frosting and the light wine from their picnic. She laughed against his lips as he attempted to devour her in his happiness.

"Mmm. Being married is nice," she said when he finally allowed her to come up for air.

"We are not married yet, vhenan," he chided gently.

"No?" she teased, "Why not?"

He frowned, though he could not maintain the expression for long. "I do not believe that is how it works."

"I see. Then what nation shall we declare allegiance to so that we can file the appropriate paperwork?" She asked. "I'm sure either Orlais or Ferelden would love to have me as a subject or did you want a Dalish wedding?" She tweaked chin playfully. "If not a nation then a religion perhaps. We could have the Maker bless our union or Mythal? She seemed very interested in our relationship."

"Hmm," he said thoughtfully. "You have a point. Still there should be some ceremony or witnesses at least."

"Are you saying that there are no witnesses here and now. Is this moment not meaningful enough to draw any spirits to remember?"

Solas knew that it was. He had noticed several spirits circling above them, all drawn to their happiness. Among the many playful wisps and curious spirits were Hope and Faith and even a rare spirit of Love. "There are," he said, his voice rough with emotion. "It is."

Her face grew a little more serious. She touched his cheek. "Then I pledge to you, Solas, my love and my hope, that I will walk at your side as long as I am able, council you whenever you will listen, heed you whenever you make sense, and love you until there is nothing left of me."

They were simple words, but the weight of them rendered him temporarily speechless. "Then I pledge to you, vhenan, Vir Lavellan," he said when he was able, "that I will cherish every moment that we share, that I will tell you the truth even when it is difficult, that I will listen to your... unique perspective even when that is difficult," he smiled as she laughed delightedly, "and even after time stops and there is no need for Dread Wolves or Inquisitors, I will love you still and you will always be my heart." They sealed their bond with a kiss knowing that while time and circumstance would test their oaths, these were promises they could finally keep.

 


End file.
